Alfred Reed Bishop and Doris William Butler

The picture above is the very tap root of Bishop's Homegrown/Face Of The Earth Seed. My grandparents shortly after moving to Pekin Indiana from Greensburg KY in 1947 where they purchased the farm that is now Bishop's Homegrown. This picture was taken in Pekin in front of the old co-op next to the old railroad depot, neither of which exist today.

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Thursday, January 12, 2012

The past seven months have been fairly busy for me between working on the farm and adding a lot of new projects to the business as well as working on community projects. All of these things have definitely contributed to my lack of presence here on the blog and at Homegrown Goodness but those sacrifices have been well worthwhile considering the payoffs.

I've heard more locally in common everday conversations and political conversations about sustainability in the "status quo" as well as in TEOTWAWKI situations that I ever have in the past. Conversations which might lead to bigger projects for the local community in the future but which are leading to fairly paradigm shifting moments in the present. Hell, I even spoke in front of the Washington County Chamber Of Commerce about plant breeding and sustainability this year and ran head first into folks more than willing to concede that we need a council to discuss and implement agricultural, cultural, and local economy based sustainability in this county. Something I will soon persue.

In the meantime I've been working towards agricultural history with my place at Old Settlers Days and hopefully the same will be said for my position in the Pekin Betterment.

The biggest and thus far most fulfilling (simply because it's further along) is the new Washington County Artisans and Farmers Market. Washington county has needed an alternative market for a long time, particularly one that was inclusive of local artisans and crafters so that they too have a venue through which to move their handmade and hopefully culturally signifigant work. The board is a nice mix of at large and producer members and we all share the same goal of both making the new market sucessful in terms of a farmers market but also in terms of economic development and agritourism opporotunities.

Me, I see it a little deeper than the other probably just because my awareness and knowledge of the shifting paradigm of government, economy, and agriculture and just how fucked were about to be by the system crash that's bound to come, so it's my hope (on top of those mentioned above) to also create barter and trade systems amongst vendors and community so that in the course of things going south we have some system which is still managable within the community of holding onto some level of sanity and comfort.

The one downside of the farmers market is our inability to have alcoholic beverages on the premises of the farmers market since it is on town property that was deeded over with the provision that no alcohol be allowed on the property. This is something that comes up over and over again in discussions with the board and in other areas of improvement and awareness of Washington County and it's unique wears. Since the Pekin Betterment also operates out of the park there too can be no alcohol via the Fourth of July Celebration. When it comes to Old Settlers Days in Salem, I'm still not sure of the opporotunities (probably if I joined the chamber I would have a better idea). This really is something that from an economic and tourism perspective we are missing out on as there are some fantastic beer brewers and wine vinters around and if anything draws a crowd it's good alcohol. This is the point of view by which most of my contemporaries also view the situation, purely from an economical and tourism view along with an express interest in seeing community members business flourish and artisan wares take off, but there is another side to it that relates just as much to TEOTWAWKI as well; alcohol and tobacco (also perfectly legal to sale uncut and in hands) will very well be a big part of the sustainability of Washington County should things get, shall I say, "That bad.". Nay, even in my opinion should be included some of the finest "likker" to ever roll off a still in the state of Indiana should be included (for the sake of either the Artisan status quo reasons or the other aforementioned) but would require an act of god to make happen given the start up costs of going "legit", none the less, we all know it exists and will be there when needed.

The third and newest part of this whole Washington County waking up paradigm is an article that one of my farmers market board members shared with the group today about a school on the other side of the county (West Washington) and some children there interested in growing a larger proportion of the cafeteria food in a hydrophonic, on site greenhouse (I'll hold my tounge and content about hydrophonic and sustainability but it's a step in the right direction). This gives me much hope that perhaps Salem and my own Alma Matter Eastern will begin to promote such ideas and begin the ball rolling on their own food growing enterprises. In fact, when I was in high school we had a fantastic and deep agriculture program which taught even quite advanced plant propigation, landscaping, botany, animal science, and horticulture at a college level (to those students like me who actually paid attention) so theres no reason that this could not be furthered. In fact, it's my opinion that not only should all schools have a greenhouse for production of food but they should include at least some number of chickens for producing eggs as well as a small research garden and a small orchard. Seed saving and gardening should be prerequisite courses for graduation as both can be applied to any situation in which you might be living your future life as there are now so many balcony, rooftop, and urban gardens.

None the less, if you appreciate such things, please take a moment to check out the link to the West Washington project that I am about to leave and donate a few dollars to further the cause of sustainability in Washington County. Much appreciated.

Washington County Artisans and Farmers

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Things you should be aware of if visiting or touring Bishop's Homegrown.

As with any business property there are certain legal restrictions we must abide by to protect ourselves and you. This is for your information and is very important for you to read before visiting our farm.

1. Under Indiana law, an agritourism provider is not liable for an injury to, or the death of, a participant in agritourism activities at this location if the death or injury results from the inherent risks of agritourism activity. Inherent risks of agritourism activities include risks of injury inherent to land, equipment, and animals as well as the potential for you to act in a negligent manner that may contribute to your injury or death, or for other participants to act in a manner that may cause you injury or cause your death. You are assuming the risk of participating in this agritourism activity.

2. We love children and understand the excitement children experience when exposed to open spaces and farm animals and we encourage visitors to bring their children. That said, please be a responsible parent and keep a close eye on your children and keep your children at your side at all time. There is to be absolutely no chasing of my animals (regardless of bare hands or baring sticks, stones, or any other instrument of livestock death and despair). Do not enter my enclosures without my express permission and accompanyment. While my animals are mostly calm and tame, go ahead and presume they are the meanest animals on the face of the earth and do not approach them without my consent.

3. Use your brain and dress and prepare appropriately for a farm tour. No open toed shoes

4. I love giving tours and talking and would never charge for information and often times I even give away products for people to try. That said, my time is important, if you feel it is appropriate and warranted I am not opposed to or above the charity of a donation for my time and knowledge, every bit of which you can guarantee will go back into the black hole that is agriculture on this farm. I generally tend to think of my time as being worth $10.00-20.00 an hour. It is not necessary to recompensate me for information gladly shared, but the sentiment is appreciated. This of course does not apply to customers who are purchasing from me or even just checking things out.

The Safe Seed Pledge.

We at Bishop's Homegrown/Face Of The Earth Seed have signed the Safe Seed Pledge which states the following:

"Agriculture and seeds provide the basis upon which our lives depend. We must protect this foundation as a safeand genetically stable source for future generations. For the benefit of all farmers, gardeners and consumers whowant an alternative,We pledge that we do not knowingly buy or sell genetically engineered seeds or plants.The mechanical transfer of genetic material outside of natural reproductive methods and between genera, familiesor kingdoms, poses great biological risks as well as economic, political, and cultural threats. We feel thatgenetically engineered varieties have been insufficiently tested prior to public release. More research and testing isnecessary to further assess the potential risks of genetically engineered seeds. Further, we wish to supportagricultural progress that leads to healthier soils, genetically diverse agricultural ecosystems and ultimately healthypeople and communities."

Penn Wilson (circa '96) showing me how to "turn" a shepards hook.

My great-uncle Arlene showing off a Banana Squash he grew sometime in the mid 80's!

Tobacco Culture runs deep in this family. Dad with our crop around '95 or so.

Welcome To....!

Sketch of the new logo by the amazing Mary Deem Pfeifer!

http://faceoftheearthseed.blogspot.com/

Don't forget to check out the 2011 Face Of The Earth seed Bazaar (public catalog). We've provided a skin and bones blogspot so you don't have to dig through the main blog here to find our new seed list.

Welcome To Bishop's Homegrown

Bishop's Homegrown and Face Of The Earth Seed are the names for both our farm and our family owned business. We are intensley devoted to developing self-sustainable alternative means and methods for our own livlihood as well as for the education of the world at large.

As the world around us changes, evolves, and devolves as we are seeing at the moment we think it more important than ever to be prepared and capable to not only survive but thrive and to understand the intricate web-like system that "eco-logical" farming represents.

We hope in the coming years to be able to provide to our customers not only information but also nursery stock of rare varieties, seeds of our unique breeding projects, livestock, and much more.

Our emphasis is on developing new varieties of livestock and plants uniquely adapted to low input farming in the Ohio valley but also in the wider world. We want to be able to provide reliable stock, information, and methods to those who wish to persue a self-sustainable lifestyle or a career in market farming, but more importantly for those concerned about what lies around the corner in the road for all of us.

Use this blog to keep up with what we have available for sale, the many projects we are working on, and for informational purposes.

Be sure as well to check out our small but growing message board of plant breeders, homesteaders, and survivalists at alanbishop.proboards.com